The quality and food safety of the products we sell are the basis of the reputation capital of our banners. We ensure the quality and food safety of our Private Brand and perishable products through our technicians, external auditors and independent and accredited laboratories, as well as our own molecular biology laboratory – which, since 2021, has checked the authenticity of ingredients to prevent food fraud.
Two policies guide our work: the Product Quality and Safety Policy, which establishes the development and monitoring system for Private Brand products and perishables, and the Nutritional Policy, defining the six pillars for product development (nutritional profile, ingredients, labelling, portion size, continuous improvement, and communication).
We invest in, certify and monitor our processes, facilities and equipment.
We perform regular analyses of our in-store products and equipment to comply with our policies and international standards.
We train our employees to have effective control over the quality and safety of our products.
We audit our stores, distribution centres and other infrastructures, such as the soup factory and fresh dough factory, based on international reference standards on quality and food safety. In 2023, we conducted 16,869 audits to our of stores and distribution centres, 259,361 analyses of work surfaces and manipulators, and 75,125 analyses of food products.
In 2023, we maintained or renewed the following food safety certifications:
We continuously invest in building the technical skills of our employees in food hygiene and safety to ensure the effective control of our products.
In 2023, a total of 242,940 hours of training in food hygiene and safety were provided to 49,772 employees in Colombia, Poland and Portugal.
Information on audits and product analyses, microbiological analyses and food safety training was confirmed by an external and independent entity for the Group’s 2023 Annual Report.